True-Wireless, Open-Air Earbuds

[SportivoA]

Now that I've given up and moved to the latest and greatest in no headphones jacks, I'm contemplating where to go for (true) wireless listening. I'm a long time user of the Apple EarPod 3.5mm and am thoroughly against the ear-sealing IEM (though they make nice, compact earplugs with protection ratings). While I might do some Type-C to 3.5mm action, I'm also expecting to give into the wireless market. To the title, I'm thinking true-wireless, open-air earbuds as my route versus IEMs or AirPods (as an Android user).

The selection is daunting and varied. Highlights include

• Shokz OpenFit 2: https://shokz.com/products/openfit2 brand new in January, available in-person at BestBuy
• Anker soundcore AeroFit 2: https://www.soundcore.com/products/a3874-aerofit-2-open-earbuds a complete restyling of the AeroFit, adds wireless charging to the case
• Both above brands seem to have well-balanced price/value propositions
• JBL SoundGear Sense Hybrid, but their store has aggressive captcha blocking

I also see an almost endless selection on Amazon ranging from stunningly cheap to seemingly rather expensive.

There are plenty of options. To narrow suggestions, my priorities are:

• Over-ear loop (not cuff style)
• Water resistant to waterproof (for outdoor cycling sweat and usually-avoided precipitation)
• Capacitive touch and/or mechanical button for playback control
• Bluetooth 5+
• Decently long battery life in use
• If possible, wireless charging on the case

Does anyone have particular selection experience to contribute in this fast-moving market? Not breaking the bank would be nice, but I expect a decent amount of office music listening that replaces the outgoing EarPods' role. Should I also consider the cheap end for a starter experience, then move up?

 

[singebob]

Sony Linkbuds
Actually open
Like really open

 

[SportivoA]

Sony Linkbuds

Miss on the first priority. They're a novel solution to do open-air, but the over-ear loop retention is necessary since I'd rather not risk leaving one on the road behind me on the bicycle.

 

[diabol1k]

I have a pair of Shokz (OpenRuns) that I, well, run in. I’ve had no issues with moisture, either sweat or rain. They only have one playback button (and two volume buttons), so it’s functional but can be a pain wearing gloves; double tap for next song sometimes only registers as a single tap/pause because of the small button and the gloves. They don’t charge wirelessly, and charging is the only issue I’ve had with them - the provided cable corroded a bit and wouldn’t charge anymore. Fixed with a cheap Amazon replacement.

They sound fine, but they won’t impress anybody. I assume that’s par for the course with bone conduction, though.

 

[Drizzt321]

I recently got the Qudelix 5k, to standard 3.5mm headphone jack, so you can end up using any headphones with it. It's pretty great, and can actually function as a USB DAC too. Handles my 250-ohm Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro great with 1vRMS instead of 2vRMS. A tremendous number of settings/curves/etc when setting via their app via BT.

Of course, then you need to buy whatever actual headphones you want, so in total ends up being rather more expensive.

 

[SportivoA]

Another option: https://www.edifier.com/global/p/true-wireless-earbuds/comfo-flex
The flex loops on the end of the behind-the-ear bit make me think adding a thin string tether is reasonably possible. Could be handy for being on the road. The AeroFit Pro has a socket for a un-true-wireless link between the two buds, too.

Maybe it'll be time for me to dig through the market a bit this weekend and make a spreadsheet for the options in this class.

 

[Andrewcw]

Miss on the first priority. They're a novel solution to do open-air, but the over-ear loop retention is necessary since I'd rather not risk leaving one on the road behind me on the bicycle.

So

None of these will be good for riding a bicycle at any decent speed. Unless you're scooting along at like 2 mph with no wind..

And definitely no to Sony Linkbuds. They have really bad quality control and their batteries have short lifespans. I already threw my set out in the trash. But they were definitely open.

Aftershokz / Boneconducting. They need it to be quiet and no wind. Or you have to wear earplugs to get them to work in a noisy environment.

 

[Drizzt321]

Personally I tried the bone conducting, and while they worked by and large, I would start getting a headache after even a short time. Maybe I needed to adjust better, but might just not be for me. Or I needed to spend a lot more on a better set.

 

[SportivoA]

Does anyone have particular selection experience to contribute in this fast-moving market? Not breaking the bank would be nice, but I expect a decent amount of office music listening that replaces the outgoing EarPods' role. Should I also consider the cheap end for a starter experience, then move up?

sigh

 

[SportivoA]

In aggregate reason to order junk on Amazon, I went with these: https://tagrystore.com/products/k08-open-ear-headphones . The listings for the black shell was 50% off coupon to $25 and the white shell version was $20 direct-discounted. I'll see how these go and consider the value of moving up to the AeroFit or other fancier option.

 

[Coleman]

If you aren't in a hurry, you might want to wait a little, Samsung is rumored to be entering the market:
https://www.sammobile.com/news/samsung-launch-wireless-open-ear-bone-conduction-headphones-soon/

 

[SportivoA]

More details will be interesting. The current set are priced to be disposable or spares if it comes to it. Rumors without design information mean the "bone conduction" part doesn't really sound great. Will see where it goes.

 

[Chris FOM]

No personal experience with them, and not sure what you mean by “cuff style,” but at a glance it seems like the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds are exactly what you’re looking for.

 

[SportivoA]

No personal experience with them, and not sure what you mean by “cuff style,” but at a glance it seems like the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds are exactly what you’re looking for.

"With a cuff-like fit, Ultra Open Earbuds leave..."

 

[elh]

I have Shokz OpenRun Pro 2 https://shokz.com/pages/openrunpro2 and for bone conducting tech you really want the connecting rod so they actually press on your bones with some level of pressure.
When riding a bicycle with a helmet and glassed this can get a bit uncomfortable, which was my supposed main use case.
The sound quality is not great even with bass boosted version.

I will likely go back to something like beats powerbeats pro 2 and running with a single earphone or low volume.

 

[dettociao]

I have the Anker aerofit pro. I use them for city biking, trail running, and sleeping (one at a time). Insane battery life (14+ hours is real), comfortable, and good sound quality with a couple EQ tweeks in their app. They're not cheap, but I like them enough that when I lost one bud I tried three other premium options and just ended up getting another pair of these.

They don't sound like my MX5 cans or buds, but they're open...

 

[SportivoA]

The K08s came in today and I promptly added them to the phone. The case is terribly light weight (but still not flimsy) and the silicone has some wonderful offgassing to it. They're quite big and have the capability to be extremely loud. Pressing play with them off my head at the default 75% was almost an actual speaker! Now I've got them almost at the minimum.

So far I'd believe the 10+ hour specified play time based on their feedback to my phone not falling below 90% in a couple hours. Audio quality can't be that great, but meets the functional level from my needs and the genres that have come up this evening. Triple-tap a bud trying to open the Android default "assistant" is inconvenient, but the contact surface sensitivity is decently tuned for play/pause.

Time to give these a run (not literally), then see where to go. Maybe keep an eye out for sales this summer on the nicer models.

 

[SportivoA]

Conclusion this far is "not worth it, except as a lesson." The K08 functions as headphones and the mics were acceptable for a call I had with little background noise. They're also way too big and have no freedom of adjustment to get them positioned comfortably. Maybe letting them sit even further outside your ear and cranking the volume would do it, but the position that gives decent sound quality at low volume has at least two bad points of contact in/on my ears. And the silicone smells like an acrid nosebleed for my best description attempt.

Yeah, onward to something nicer.

 

[SportivoA]

I have the Anker aerofit pro. I use them for city biking, trail running, and sleeping (one at a time). Insane battery life (14+ hours is real), comfortable, and good sound quality with a couple EQ tweeks in their app. They're not cheap, but I like them enough that when I lost one bud I tried three other premium options and just ended up getting another pair of these.

Yup, these have been the play. Not the best fit with the profile of the ear arms on my sunglasses when cycling, but good enough for what I do. Solid sound, good fit for casual wearing, and the neck clip works great for when your actually on the move. And, of course, no isolation from anything.